Two livestock guardian dogs patrol a cattle herd across the Rita Blanca National Grasslands in the Texas Panhandle, and researchers hope their presence could help a fox no bigger than a house cat. The dogs are there to protect cattle. But by changing where coyotes go, they may also give swift foxes more room to survive.
Texas is believed to have fewer than 250 swift foxes, its smallest fox species. Dallam County is the only county in the state where researchers currently know of a swift fox population. The animal depends on shortgrass prairie, once widespread across the Panhandle and western Texas. Today, only 40% to 50% of that habitat remains, according to Dana Karelus, the state mammal specialist with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
The loss and breaking up of prairie have also changed the landscape for predators. Taller vegetation now growing in some areas gives coyotes more cover. Coyote predation is a leading cause of swift fox deaths, said Haley Sloan, a doctoral student in Texas A&M's Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management. Her research is testing whether guardian dogs working alongside cattle can discourage coyotes from using parts of the landscape—and, in turn, reduce the danger to foxes.
The idea is that the dogs may act like a larger predator in the area, influencing coyotes' behavior. Researchers are tracking both species to see whether that happens. Before the project's three-year study began, they fitted swift foxes and coyotes with GPS collars, which record their movements. The dogs will also wear GPS collars after they are introduced to the cattle herd. Comparing the animals' movements before and after that change will give the team a way to measure whether the dogs affect where coyotes and foxes travel.
The study is one part of a wider effort to improve swift fox survival and recovery. It is co-led by John Tomecek, an associate professor at Texas A&M, and researchers at Texas Tech University. Other work looks at habitat management and public views of the species, helping inform a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department recovery plan. Bill Costanzo, a livestock guardian dog specialist with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, and colleagues at the AgriLife Research and Extension Center in San Angelo trained the dogs now working with the herd.
The fox's small size and diet of insects, plants and small rodents mean it poses no threat to cattle, sheep or goats. That makes it a possible neighbor for ranchers, whose livelihoods also depend on healthy rangelands. If guardian dogs do keep coyotes away from some areas, the approach could support wildlife and livestock at once, including by reducing the risk of livestock predation during calving season. The researchers' tracking data will show whether this unusual pairing can make a difference for the state's rare fox—and whether working ranches can also help keep native prairie wildlife on the landscape.